A Few Extra Hands

Let’s face the facts; in today’s fire service, career and volunteer departments are dealing with understaffed box alarm assignments. On paper; a 4 man company is “NFPA” compliant. We all know that the more manpower, the better. See the study that NIST did to see just how much more a few hands can improve operations.

http://www.nist.gov/el/fire_research/upload/Report-on-Residential-Fireground-Field-Experiments.pdf

Years ago, departments realized the need for extra manpower on fire scenes (even when they were riding with far more members per company than we are today). They developed Squads as companies that can get on the fire scene and reinforce the operations of the other companies on the fire ground. Many departments use Rescue Companies, Squad Companies, Rescue Engines or additional Truck Companies for this purpose.

An extra Special Service (Truck, Squad or Rescue) can be a valuable asset on the fire ground.

- Checking Exposures

- Checking for Fire Extension

- Assisting with Fire Attack

- Assisting with Ventilation

- Assisting with the Primary/Secondary Search

- Completing size up of the “Charlie” Side

- Controlling Utilities

- Ensuring smooth company operations

Any special circumstances can also be handled by this company

- Cellar Fires

- Underground Fires

- High Rise Fires

- Fires dealing with Hazardous Materials

- Structure Fires with high potential for collapse

Checking Exposures
While all other operations on the fire ground are being taken care of, this special service can check the exposures, both exposures if the building is in the middle of the group. This can assist the Incident Commander in calling for additional resources or additional alarms, keeping him one step ahead of the game.

Checking for Fire Extension
The Company can also be used for checking fire extension on all sides of the fire. The first and/or second due truck is busy performing ventilation and searching the structure, the extra special service can be used to start opening up ceilings, walls and void spaces. This would help direct future engine company operations and determine how far advanced the fire is.

Assisting with Fire Attack
Due to most Career Departments responding with 4 man Engine Companies and most volunteer departments responding with 3 man Engine Companies, the “stretch” can be grueling. Two or three people stretching 3 or more lengths of hose is not going to go smooth with only 3 or 4 bends. An extra company can help the under staffed Engine while making the bends and just generally picking up a few feet of hose and helping advance the line. This Engine may not like you after the fire, but they will be thankful as they are making the room at the end of the hall.

Assisting with Ventilation
With the Truck Companies are searching the structure, ventilation can be delayed. A member of the extra special service can assist with Vertical ventilation and the rest of the company can assist with ventilating horizontally. This is can prolong the survivability of the building occupants and save the engine company from taking too hard of a “Beating”.

Assisting with the Primary/Secondary Search
Fire Departments are here to protect life and property. Our Primary objective is to save lives, so this should be simple; a few more hands helping look for trapped occupants is a good thing.

Completing size up of the “Charlie” Side
Many departments send companies to the rear to operate. But who really stands back and gets a good size up of the rear? Most of the time the companies in the rear are checking the following: Life Safety and Hazards, Fire conditions and number of floors. We all know that size up is ongoing, this can be accomplished by having the extra special service officer keep the size up going and keeping the Incident Commander updated.

Controlling Utilities
Another important objective but it is commonly pushed off and handled last due to limited manpower. No one wants to sink their hook into a ceiling or wall and feel the electricity pass from their hook into their hands.

Ensuring smooth company operations
With each company stretched thin, attempting to accomplish each objective and every task on the fire ground, speed bumps get hit. The engine gets hung up and can’t advance the line, the ventilation is delayed, utilities aren’t controlled, no one is sizing up the rear, not enough ground ladders are being thrown, exposures aren’t being properly stretched, a few extra hands on the fire ground can make a world of difference. Imagine being an Incident Commander and having 4 extra sets of hands on the fire ground. One more person helping with the line, one more set of hands searching for victims, one more saw and axe on the roof or one more person controlling utilities and sizing up the rear of the structure.

Special circumstances
More so in Career Departments, Special Service companies are trained and specialized, are often highly experienced and used to working independently. These companies carry special equipment that can aid in fires where special circumstances arise such as; Thermal Imaging Cameras, Tag lines, Rope Rescue Equipment, Shoring, etc.

Cellar Fires
Cellar Fires are most of the most dangerous fires a fireman can go to. They are, by nature, in a confined space with limited ventilation. These Special Services can assist with the stretch of the attack line. Due to heavy fire loads found in Basements and Cellars, larger attack lines may be stretched. Limited manpower and large attack lines are a recipe for disaster. The extra manpower can be used to assist in this labor intensive operation.

Ventilation is a HUGE ISSUE at Cellar Fires, most of the time the only ventilation is the door opening that the Engine Company is using to advance their line. Mauls, axes, and saws can be used to create and enlarge ventilation openings such as basement windows, walls, and floors.

Engagement is another issue. On August 20^th, 2004 Captain John Taylor and Firefighter Rey Rubio died bravely while battling a basement fire in a residential dwelling.

( http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/display/226139/articles/fire-engineering/hide/2005/04/2005-courage-and-valor-award-captain-john-taylor.html )

No one can say that have a few extra men would have saved Captain Taylor and Firefighter Rubio, but I can say that if I were trapped in a basement, I know that I would want someone there with me.

Underground Fires
When I say underground fires, I don’t mean like the one still burning in Centralia, PA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania), I mean fires in manholes, vaults, subways, tunnels and the like. These fires can be extended operations, just finding the location is a extensive and problematical task, This where the extra special service company comes in. They can get into the space and recon the location of the fire, this information will make the Engines stretch easier. This way the engine company knows where to stretch and doesn’t have to just go looking for it.

Many of these companies also carry taglines, Thermal Imaging Cameras, CO and Multi Gas meters, some even carry 60 minute or longer airpacks. These tools can also improve operations.

High Rise Fires
Some of the same points for underground fires can be translated to Hi Rise Fires. The Thermal Imaging Cameras, Taglines, longer airpacks can aid in operations. Also, a large amount of compartments in the building will have to be searched, in turn, a large amount of doors will have to be forced -Two Truck Companies will not be able to accomplish this task in any reasonable amount of time (Not when it comes to life safety).

Recon is another problem at these fires. Who is locating the fire? Who is checking for extension to upper floors? Who is controlling Elevators? Who is in charge of the staging floor? Searching the floors above? Checking for occupants who are sheltered in place? Who is controlling the other stair tower? Checking the roof for victims who have fled to higher ground? All of these objectives must be met, the extra special service can GREATLY aid in these objectives.

Fires dealing with Hazardous Materials
Very Simple. These fires are very labor and time consuming. An extra Special Service (One with Hazmat Operations or Technician level members) can assist in the control, confine and extinguishment of these types of fires. These companies may also carry hazmat equipment.

Structure Fires with high potential for collapse
Over the years and through our history, A large number of Brothers have been killed in buildings that collapsed:

http://www.arundelburning.com/articles/Trufit%20Booklet_print1.pdf
http://www.nyfd.com/history/wooster/wooster_street.html
http://thecompanyofficer.com/tag/fathers-day-fire/
http://www.firehouse.com/news/line-duty-deaths/two-chicago-firefighters-killed-blaze

Some of these buildings showed no signs of collapse. But, there are instances that tell tale signs are visible. These experienced companies could be vital is noticing these signs and alerting the rest of the units of the fire ground. Something as simple as driving an axe through the floor of a flooded level of the building and letting the water escape into the basement can make all the difference.

After reading this article, I hope that you can see how important a few extra hands can be on the fire ground.

After reading this article, I hope that you can see how important a few extra hands can be on the fire ground. Most people fail to understand that 85% of the work on the fire ground is considered “Truck Work”, while 80% of people want to focus on “Engine Work”. Being assigned to a Rescue Company in a Metropolitan area, I am not confined to one place on the fire ground or on the end of the hose line, I am used to rove around the fire ground - plugging holes in other companies, and reinforcing operations. The intent of this article isn’t to insist that you have a Rescue Company on a box, but maybe just request or change your running cards to include an extra Truck or Special Service. They can be your eyes and ears. In this age of “NFPA Compliance”, we need all the help we can get.

COMING SOON!!!!

Look for a new blog on Primary Search and roles of Special Services on the Fireground. Sorry it's been so long...

Part 2: It's only a Vacant...

In the Northeast, it’s been cold for sometime now with some of us having major snow falls of 14+ inches this winter. So let’s imagine that it’s 6am and you’re dispatched as First Due Engine to a structure fire. The wind chill is down around 10 degrees with a strong wind. Your company pulls up to find this:

What to do? As you can see, the structure appears to be vacant, as do the structures on either side. Do you lead off to a water supply only to put blitz lines in service and see how much water weightthe floors of this dwelling can withstand before they collapse?

Let’s say that you are ordered to take this route per your company/commanding officer. The crew quickly knocks the bulk of the fire when a homeless man comes running from the corner and tells you that his "friend" was staying in that house last night, and he had not seen her leave this morning. While you’re waiting for fire investigators to arrive you realize that the cause of the fire may have been the woman's source of warmth? Maybe it was a candle or a kerosene heater? Did she use the proper fuel? Or perhaps she was burning paper in a coffee can? Did she remember to put the can out before she drifted off to sleep?

After their arrival the Fire Investigation unit quickly locates the remains of a female on the 2nd floor. Is someone to blame for her death? Or is it just an act of a higher power taking someone at his or her time? Thinking back, could this fire have been contained with your standard 1 3/4’’ hose line?

From the looks of this picture, it appears to have been one room and was quite possibly only a vacant. Some people in the fire service would have viewed this as a tragic, unavoidable situation. But is it? How difficult would it have been to investigate the structure upon arrival? Did it appear to be sound? How far had the fire advanced? Could the hose team have made a quick aggressive knock on the fire using a handline?

It's quite possible that no one will ever know because the actions may have just killed a innocent, homeless woman. Think about it. We are sworn to protect lives and property. What if the knock on this fire wasn’t quick, and it started walking down the block? Now it’s below freezing, a woman has perished, and houses in this group, that may have been occupied, are now in danger of burning because the company was playing it safe, based on the decision of an officer-in-charge who did not want to make an aggressive command decision.

No one is suggesting that you need to push in to a fully-involved vacant dwelling and placing your firefighters at risk. But 15 minutes of hard, fast, aggressive work…that’s all it takes to save a life.

Or on the other hand, let’s say that the woman left earlier that morning, leaving via the back door. Would the crew have accomplished anything by still pushing in and making the interior attack? YES! For the overall firefight to be effective, firefighters need to stop this fire – any fire -- before it extends to the other buildings (HOMES!) in the group.

It is important to note, that NO structure is vacant until A PROPER SEARCH IS INITIATED, followed by the crew's report, "SECONDARY SEARCH NEGATIVE." This leads us into our next topic. SEARCHING DWELLINGS. This is the fundamental reason why fire departments exist. The volunteer bucket brigades of old were capable of extinguishing a blaze, but they lacked the knowledge and equipment to affect a proper search. Today, we know that it takes an aggressive, well-staffed company/department to make the push into a burning dwelling and pull someone from certain death. And when it comes to searching a structure, we must search "vacant" dwellings as well.

In every part of this country, the economy is down, people are losing their homes and homeless numbers are growing. These are the new generations of homelss, men, women and children who are not accustomed to living on the streets. And until the economy stabilizes, and new jobs are generated, they will continue to seek shelter in these "vacant" dwelling all across this county. Just like foreclosure knows no limits, nor do "squatters" living in these "vacant dwellings". It doesn’t matter if you are in Wilmington, Delaware; Washington, D.C.; Canton, OH; Detroit, MI or Burlington, VT -- homeless is homeless and cold is still cold. Should we not search these structures because a neighbor tells us so? Certainly not! Since when do we take a civilian’s word that a structure is unoccupied? That’s not something I ever was taught.

I urge you, when making decisions regarding firefighting in vacant structures; do not take any extraordinary risks, but do complete the basics of fire attack. Structural firefighting by definition, is a risk and is ranked as one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. So if you are not prepared to take the necessary risks that come with the service; Wal-Mart and the American Legion are always looking for new help.

Part I: The things we have come to fear the most...

Every time one turns around or a new member joins the fire service, we preach about tradition and history. But, is it truly productive discussion, or just lip service? Are we really teaching our new members what they need to know in order to get where we are going? Or are we leaving that space between their ears empty, never truly understanding about the heroic deeds, blood, sacrifice, sorrow and triumph that have accumulated over the past 250 years?

There have been many books and seminars that have touched on this subject. Some of the authors and presenters even to claim to be experts. Although I do not doubt their wisdom, can they truly be experts about "YOUR" local department? Can they tell you about the dedicated men and women who have made your department what it is today? For most departments, this information is not found in books, but rather in the minds and hearts of the old leather lung salts who are a part of your volunteer "coffee club" or members of your union local's "retirees section".

There are a few givens in the fire service history beginning with Benjamin Franklin's formation of the first volunteer fire company. It's known that most major cities started forming into paid departments just after the Civil War a trend which lasted into the turn of the century. It's also known that without the creation of leather riveted fire hose, the American Fire Service would not have the aggressive reputation that we have today. And if you look deep enough, you will learn that fire trucks are red because the color signifies courage. And finally, back in the early 1800's, the volunteers of New York City had a sort of live-in program that is now popular in the Maryland area today.

Reading that last sentence, I believe it's safe to say that in a number of cases, what is once old...is new again. Think about how many people in this country are pulled from the throat of fires every year. Do we think that this is something new? Of course not! It’s a heroic action that has been going on since interior firefighting first emerged.

So, with that being said, I urge you to go ask your less-senior members questions about the history, not only about the American fire service, but of your OWN department. How much will they know? I'd bet not a lot. However, I do not believe it's their fault.

You see, the real issue here is “progress” or at least that’s how people like to refer to it. Take an article I read a few months ago. It spoke of changing our culture, from a Fire Suppression to a Fire Protection culture. I thought to myself, "haven’t we already done this?" Are we not handing out smoke detectors, inspecting buildings, pushing sprinkler codes and other life safety initiatives? We‘ve been doing it for over a generation now, so the culture has already changed. Does that mean that it is correct? Not necessarily.

We see fewer structure fires now than any time in recent history, yet our LODD numbers remain at the same levels. So with fewer fires, should we continue to focus more on fire prevention and less on structural firefighting? I say no, because it robs the younger generation of firefighters of valuable hands-on experience, that they can not receive due to the decreased fire load in this county.

America will always have fires; so let’s stop acting like we can put an end to it all By reminding the public to stop, drop and roll. The firefight will continue, and in my humble opinion, We need to re-establish our core values. This can be found by looking back into our history.

People who are pushing the kinder, gentler fire departments, are the same ones who are ignorant of our culture and history. (or -- the same ones who have chosen to ignore firefighting culture and history.) These are the same folks who preach about risks, serving the public and life safety, and they act as if those who went before us never considered these issues.

Our History has become the thing that many in the fire service fear the most. They push us away from being aggressive interior firefighters opting instead for exterior blitz attacks. Fact is, we can be aggressive and remain safe simultaneously!

So please, I beg you, teach your younger firefighters about the history of your department. Make them aware of the pride and ownership that the men before us had. There is still time to re-introduce our past, but we need to do it soon before we lose the extremely valuable substance that make us who we are today.

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned over the next few weeks.  The next 4 parts will contain Engine Company Operations, Searching Dwellings, Primary Objectives on Dwelling Fires and more!  Be safe and Thank you.

Welcome

Welcome my Brothers and Sisters. Let me start by saying thank you for visiting my little part of the web. Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series of 5 blogs about Bread and Butter Company Operations. Depending on feedback and my ability to write something, there will be a series after that. Thank you for you time and be safe.